Spent Saturday sleeping in and then went to a movie which was memorable for the theatre as much as the movie. Spent today at Pushkin, which was an accomplishment because I mangaged to get out for there for only 18 roubles! Also, I realize that this is my last week in St. Pete's...*big awwww here* I am feeling totally reluctant to go. At first I thought three weeks would be such a long time, and here it is, I only have three days left and I am so sad to be going. Before I forget, I want to tell you about some St. Pete-quirky things I've enjoyed here...

The first is the summertime 'snow'. This is actually pollen, or some kind of white fluff spore stuff, that floats down out of the trees and collects everywhere. I am sure it is a nightmare for people with allergies. Fortunately, that is not me. *hee* So I just get to enjoy the effect. For example, on Saturday after my long nap I decided to go see Kill Bill 2 (read in the paper about an English screening in a cinema across town). Walked from the metro about 20:30pm through the park area north of PP Fortress, the sun was kind of getting lower in the sky, all the white stuff was blowing down and kind of shimmering in the light...it was one of those moments that you remember.

The other thing I'll remember, too, was a car accident that happened right in front of me as I was walking up to Bolshoi Pr. to the theatre...some kind of Focus-type car and an older car. Totally destroyed the little Focus. Both people walked away and were fine, although the owner of the Focus was furious and gathered a little crowd of supporters on the street corner. Glad that everyone was okay!

When I found the theatre (the Mirazh - we would say 'Mirage') and got my ticket, I was surprised because it was 500 roubles! That's almost $20. I thought, maybe it was because it was in English (subtitled in Russian), since standard movies here are dubbed over. Then I went where they (very nicely) directed me and the theatre was amazing....all velvet and gold, with these huge seats with little lamps and every seat had a little gold embroidered pillow. There was even a menu with an extensive (and expensive) wine and liquor list. Ha! Guess I was at the rich people's theatre and totally didn't realize it. It didn't look like much from the outside. I'm just a dumb American, what do I know? So it was a memorable night because of that (and for those who have seen the movie - for the scene were the Chinese girl with the shotgun is trying to read the pregnancy test instructions - I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Also I love Uma Thurman as a actress, so it was great to see her. What a bizarre movie.)

Okay, so other 'St Pete' things. I have gotten used to the metro, for one thing, and love it. Very convenient, you just have to get used to it. It is interesting that the windows on the metro trains open....even though you're who-knows-how deep in the ground and the air can't be that good for you. Although it keeps the cars nice and cool, not stuffy like on the MAX, so I like it.

Also, another thing I have learned is that queues aren't always what they seem. For example, if you are waiting in line and it isn't moving, it could be that the people at the window are just trying to decide something. What you do is kind of push your way between them, get the attention of the attendant, and see if she will respond to you. If she does, you can conduct your business (e.g., buy a metro token, water, blini or shverma, etc.) between the two people who are discussing whatever in Russian at the window. This is very helpful to figure out and saves time! (I should note that this does NOT apply at museums and foreign-tourist places.) Oh, and a shverma (not sure if I am transliterating that right) is this really nummy tortilla-chicken-cucumber street food thing that you can find everywhere that is only 30-35 p.

The other thing that I have enjoyed about St. Pete's are the flowers. There are lots of people selling flowers on the street, especially in the evenings. And lots of people buy them...guys for their girls, etc. So I've had fresh flowers in my hostel room since I've been here...I buy the wild ones (daises, lily-of-the-valley) since I think the babushkas pick them themselves. They have been really nice to have, since I am in the city.

So I went to Pushkin today (Tsarkskoye Selo - I don't know if I spelled that right - it is weird to transliterate, because I am starting to get used to seeing the things I need in Cyrillic, so it seems weird even to write Pushkin). This was a challenge for me, because unless you want to pay 1800 roubles for a guided tour with all the other tourists (ugh - which sounded dull and crowded and plus wasn't being offered today), you have to take a metro/bus combination, and the bus part isn't really clear and doesn't go straight there. So I asked for advice at the hostel and got some different ideas (from other travelers and from reception) on what to do. What I ended up doing was taking one of these taxi bus things. They are actually vans, but with seats inside such that they can carry 12 people (more if a few are kind of standing/crouching). They are yellow or white and have signs taped in the windows that list where they are going.

You pay the driver when you first get on (got yelled at for not doing this the first time, but now I know). It only cost 10 roubles. And, evidently, you can get off at a customized stop by talking to the driver, which seems to sometimes be okay and sometimes be a result of arguing. The taxi buses kind of have marked stops, although they don't really use them. You flag them down, and they may or may not stop, depending on whether or not they are full or on the driver. (Sometimes we would inexplicably pass people obviously flagging us down, so maybe there is more that I don't know about this...). Anyway, it worked great! I asked and got dropped off in front of the Catherine Park at Pushkin. Coming back, after getting passed by a bunch of these taxi-vans that were full, I figured out to walk further a ways up the road (in the opposite direction that I wanted to go) and bingo! - was able to catch one that hadn't filled up yet and get back to the metro.

So Pushkin was beautiful...it is about 23 km outside town. I didn't go in the big famous Catherine Palace (home of the famous Amber Room) because the queue was ridiculous and anyway, I've seen lots of palaces. I'm sure Amber Room fans will think I am crazy, but really, you should have seen the line! (For those who really want to see the Amber Room, you should book with a tour in advance, this seems to be the best way). But I really only wanted to go there because of Anna A. (she lived in Pushkin for a while).

Catherine Park is formal, with statues, pavilions, ponds, arbors, stone bridges, landscaped hedges of peonies and lilacs, etc. It was nice to stroll out there and view the palace from afar, which is very beautiful. Alex. Park is kind of overgrown and rambling, with a ruined little Chinese pavilion, a medieval kind of pavilion, and more ponds and bridges, though not kept up. It is the kind of place we would love to explore, sisters. Lots of little paths that go mysterious places. So I had a lot of fun wandering around there and used the Russian mosquito repellant that I bought (did I tell you I have been eaten alive and so I bought some? Anyway, it works.)

So that is my update from Russia...hope you are all doing well!